_Time to claim your possession (part 1 of 2)JOSHUA 1:1-11It’s right for a child of God to take possession of what God has for them.Most parents that have wealth will leave the inherent for their child and or children.This inherent could be financial wealth or any tangible material or even it could be a spiritual legacy for the child and or children such as the inheritance of a church.For some it may be going after the calling that God has given you and you have decided to put it aside to pursue other things.But whatever it is you must go after it, NOW.Whatever it is, there will be a time when that inheritance has to be claimed in order for you to become the rightful owner of it.If that material is not claim then you will not be able to possess it.If your gift is not used, then God will raise up someone else and used that person gift in front of your face, while you are still trying to figure out or work out some things in your life. Understand that, even before you go after your possession, you must understand that there is something to possess or something that for you to fulfill. But how can you possess what is rightful yours?You can possess what’s yours by simply going after it in prayer and fasting, having a plan and or allowing the Lord Jesus Christ to give you direction on where you can find that possession or how to use that gift and or calling that you have.To obtain your possession you must be committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, follow his instruction and allow him to guide you all the way through.Remember, the earth is the LORD's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein, Psalms 24:1.And since the earth is the Lord’s he will certainly grant you that which belongs to you, but you have to make sure that you position yourself in the right place at the right time.In this week’s lesson we will look carefully at how Joshua followed the instruction of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to possess what had belong to him and children of Israel.This week we will focus on the purpose, major theme, who is Joshua and how the Lord gave him instruction to move from where he was after the death of Moses in order to possess the land that he had promise the children of Israel.The Book of Joshua does not explicitly name its author. More than likely Joshua the son of Nun wrote it sometime between 1400 and 1370 B.C.Obviously, the book of Joshua continues the story of the Israelites after their exodus from Egypt. Most importantly the book of Joshua records the consummation of the redemption Israel out of Egypt; for redemption has two parts: "out," and "into" (Dt 6:23). The book chronicles approximately 20 years of Joshua’s leadership of the people after Moses anointed him at the end of Deuteronomy.And this book continues the story of the Israelites after their exodus from Egypt.We find that the Israelites, after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, finally entered the rest God had promised for them in the land of Canaan. The writer of Hebrews uses this incident as a warning to us not to let unbelief keep us from entering into God’s rest in Christ according to Hebrews 3:7-12.With this we find the purpose, the major themes and message of Joshua is as follow. The purpose is summarized in Joshua 21:43-45 and how God kept his covenant promise to give the land to Israel, the land that he had showed to Abraham.For this the children of Israel spent forty years of the wilderness wandering has been mentioned in chapter 21.The major theme is that God hath promise Abraham a land, thought it was not to belong to his family for some four centuries in Genesis 15:13-21.Israel did not come out of Egypt by its own power, so the land was not taken by Israel’s military might or by Joshua’s strategies.The message is that God keeps his promises, no matter how impossible they may seem. And God’s covenant with Abraham is something that he took very seriously and intended to fulfill.

Since Joshua wrote the book of Joshua let’s examine who Joshua was:His name is ‘Yehoshua’ and means, "the LORD is salvation,” Joshua was born as a slave in Egypt, about 40 years before the Exodus. He was the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim (1 Chronicles 7:20 & 27).Originally named Hoshea (Numbers 13:8), meaning salvation, Moses renamed him Joshua, meaning The Lord is Salvation (Numbers 13:16).He was Moses' successor. He was permitted to accompany him part of the way up Mount Sinai when Moses received The Ten Commandments from God. During his absence, Aaron and the people ran wild in Exodus 32:15-21 & 24:13-14.Joshua is considered one of the Bible's greatest military leaders for leading the seven-year conquest of the Promised Land.The first time we see Joshua is in Exodus 17:13 which tells us that Joshua "overwhelmed Amalek and his people."Joshua was one of the twelve men sent by Moses to spy the land (Numbers 13:16-17 and 14:7-10) but only Joshua and Caleb gave an encouraging report.Before Moses' death the leadership of Israel was formally transferred to Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:23). The people were encamped at Shittim when he assumed the command. (Joshua 1:1, 2:1).

The primary lesson to draw from Joshua’s life is that God is faithful to His promises. God promised Abraham that his descendants would dwell in the land, and under Joshua, God brought the people into the land that He had promised to give to them.Considering everything about Joshua we can conclude that he had confidence in God according to numbers 14:6-10.Understanding the TextWe find that the book of Joshua begins where Deuteronomy ends, after the death of Moses. Notice that the book opens up with ‘Now’, this word shows a connection of something that has happen before, which was the death of Moses in Deuteronomy 34:5.And Moses is mentioned as a servant of the Lord, and he was representing the law.And Moses death was repeated in Joshua 1:1 to inform the readers of the “Now”.So it was after the death of Moses that God had to select another servant/leader.And Moses wasn’t able to take the children of Israel to the promise land because Moses had rebelled against the Lord in the sight of a rebellious people. The congregation of God’s people had complained to Moses about the lack of water according to (Num. 20:3-4).And for this reason Moses rebelled against God in Numbers 20:8-11.So it was because of Moses disobedience God now had to raise up someone else.And as the book opens up, God showed Joshua how to prepare in order to take the land in verses 1-2.And the first thing we see is that the, “LORD spake unto Joshua” in verses one.As the LORD spake to Joshua he gave him instruction of how to conquer the land.The first thing the Lord told Joshua, was to ‘arise’ the Hebrew there is ‘koom’ and means, Stand up, Make a move, Go ahead and confirm, Take this stand.The Lord told Moses to arise because at this time Moses was probably mourning for the loss of his mentor. But God had wanted a quick move to take place for the children of Israel.The Lord told Moses to arise and goover Jordan, for I do give to them a land.It was the land of Canaan God had first promised to Abraham hundreds of years before in Genesis 12:7, 12:14-17, and God had promised to bring Abraham’s descendants back to their own land n Genesis 15:16.Since God had made that promise he had to keep it.So in this, after the death of Moses, Joshua had to carry out this promise.Joshua was set apart to lead the people in the way of the Lord, and he was filled with the Spirit of God according to Numbers 27:18-20.The children of Israel were going to have all the land on the east, west, north and south.But first they hadto cross over, Jordan in order to get there.And Jordan means Descend or flow down.Next week’s lesson we will conclude with the three stages that Joshua had to follow in order for him to claim the possession that God had for him and the children of Israel. For the rest of this week I encourage you to think of a promise that God had promised you and go towards with.It’s time to take possess of it, Now.What is it that God promised you?